Although I am lucky to have 44 acres on which to roam, sometimes getting off of the farm is necessary for my sanity. Living this lifestyle means that there is a lot of hard work to be done outside of our day jobs. Now that I’m working from home, I feel like the work-life balance I try so hard to achieve isn’t as easy these days.
For someone who loves to camp, fly fish and hike, I feel equally as lucky that we are still able to access trails and crown land during this pandemic.
Fishing and hunting were recently named essential services in B.C. and I am thankful for that. Typically when I fish it is catch and release only, but many people feed their families with the fish they catch and the animals they hunt. For me, fishing is a true reprieve from the hectic, every-day hustle and bustle.
On Sunday E and I went for an adventure through crown land to one of our favourite lakes for our first fishing day of the year. We both caught a rainbow trout and we enjoyed a perfect day on the water. It was a bit windy but we managed to find a spot with the wind at our backs where we could cast out our lines. The water was crystal clear. We could see trout swimming around our bobbers and it was exciting to watch them all day long.
We left the dogs at home and simply enjoyed a day, just the two of us, doing something that we love. Starting work on Monday feels so much easier when I’m able to unplug for a few hours on the weekend.
When I’m fishing, the only thing I’m thinking about are the blue skies, the emerald green water, the mountains and the fish (of course). No work, no garden, no farm chores, no COVID-19, just us and nature.
It reminds me of a quote that I read a few years ago, published by one of my favourite bloggers/writers Jillian Lukiwski (The Noisy Plume). She is referencing the river in this quote, but I think the same can be said for fishing in general. It goes as such:
“Each loop I throw out is a prayer, a forgiveness to myself for my own shortcomings, a hope for anger dissolved, gratitude for lessons learned, the stripping away of my fears. The river is the coolest, flowing-est, loveliest thing in the valley and the fish give me something to tether my faith to.” - Jillian Lukiwski
Even when there is no pandemic going on, we often go fishing not to escape life but to embrace it. E and I often fondly refer to fishing as church. Time to reflect on ourselves and the world around us. Time to admire nature’s beauty and all of the natural elements that make this area so wonderful to live. Time spent together, sometimes without saying a word. Time to learn new things and challenge ourselves and pray to the fish gods that we’ll catch something.
corey.bullock@cranbrooktownsman.com
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